Since becoming Incarnate Word's football coach last December, Larry Kennan has been having a blast.

He enjoyed going through recruiting, offseason workouts, spring training and two-a-days, along with last weekend's scrimmage against Monterrey Tech. Now, Kennan is ready to have even more fun.

He gets that opportunity when the Cardinals open their season against Texas College at 7 p.m. Saturday at Benson Stadium.

“Every day is a dream come true for me,” said Kennan, who spent the past 13 years as director of the NFL Coaches Association. “I'd been saying I need to end my career as a coach. This is the best situation.

“The players have bought into what we are doing. We're way better than we were in spring practice. We like our team.”

The last time Kennan was on the field was with the New England Patriots as offensive coordinator in 1997. In his last head-coaching stint, he led the London Monarchs to the World League championship in 1991. His previous college stop was at Lamar (1979-81).

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Although Kennan has been away for quite some time, it hasn't taken him long to get back into coaching mode. Still, he expects to be a little nervous before kickoff.

“I'll probably have the jitters like the players,” Kennan said. “In the scrimmage, I made more mistakes than they did. I need to hold up my game and make the right calls.”

Kennan likes the direction his team is headed. The experienced players continue to improve, and several of the freshmen are making contributions.

In addition, the Cardinals appear to have found an answer to their quarterback situation.

Going into the opener, former New Braunfels standout Zach Rhodes gets the start, but freshman Taylor Woods will also see playing time.

“In a first game, guys tend to be more nervous,” Kennan said. “There's a lot of emotion, particularly in this one. There's a new offense, a new defense, a new head coach and new attitude. What I told them (is) they have to manage those emotions.”